A rep for the 39-year-old author, actress and former model told the magazine: "As a result of her condition, this pregnancy has been referred to by her physician as nothing short of a medical miracle, and due to its delicate nature, we ask/implore the press to respect Ms. Lakshmi's privacy at this time."

Lakshmi has endometriosis, a disorder of the female reproductive system in which the endometrium, which normally lines the uterus, grows in other places as well. Often, this growth is on the fallopian tubes, ovaries or the tissue lining the pelvis. The condition can cause pain, bleeding and infertility.

Lakshmi has co-founded the Endometriosis Foundation of America.

The father of the child hasn't been revealed. Lakshmi's three-year marriage to novelist Salman Rushdie ended in 2007.